Chapter XI
The Curse Revoked—Conclusion.
“Commend the past to God, with all its irrevocable harm,
Humbly, but in cheerful trust, and banish vain regrets;
Come to Him, continually come, casting all the present at His feet,
Boldly, but in prayerful love, and fling off selfish cares;
Commit the future to His will—the viewless, fated future;
Zealously go forward with integrity, and God will bless thy faith.”
—TUPPER.
A year had passed away since the captain had taken up his abode in the “Forester’s House,” as it was still called, in the course of which the intimacy between him and his good friend the pastor had been confirmed by many mutual acts of kindness. The captain was a great favourite with the children, and a visit to his house was looked upon by them as the greatest possible treat, and many were the interesting and instructive stories which he related for their amusement. His long wanderings in almost every part of the world furnished him with an inexhaustible supply of anecdotes and narratives of foreign customs, which the children could never grow tired of listening to. His friends, however, could not help noticing that he had not yet shaken off his fear that some fresh misfortune was in store for him, in consequence of his youthful disobedience and the curse which his father had pronounced upon him. This he believed, being unrevoked, would, as his father had written, “follow him always.”
Thus this one great sin of disobeying his father’s commands had embittered his happiness for more than forty years, not only when he was suffering what he justly believed to be the consequences of his wickedness, but long after he had earnestly repented of all his sins, and was living a peaceful, godly life.
Oh that all the boys and girls who may read this story would think over those words of St Paul, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. Honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth,” (Eph. vi. 1-3), and learn from this narrative that every act of wilful disobedience to a parent’s commands is a sin against God, which He is sure to punish.
The good pastor’s prayers that the captain might be relieved from his anxiety of mind were not in vain, and he himself was destined to be the happy instrument in God’s hands of removing the burden that had so long oppressed his friend. It happened one day when the pastor was writing in his study, that a man called upon him for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of his birth, which was necessary to enable him to receive a legacy to which he was entitled. The pastor inquired his name.
“My name is John Lobert,” said the man, “and I have been living at Liverpool for many years; but I now intend to settle down here in my native village for the remainder of my life.”
“When you were at Liverpool, did you ever meet Captain Buchman?” asked the pastor.
“No,” said Lobert, “I never met him there; but I used to know him very well as a boy; in fact, he was an old schoolfellow of mine. I was astonished when I arrived at Dornbach last night to hear that he was living here. I shall be delighted to see him again.”
“The captain, I am sure, will be pleased to see one of his old companions,” replied the pastor, “but wait a moment, and I will give you your certificate. In what year were you born?”
“In 17—,” answered Lobert.
“Ah, that was in my predecessor’s time,” said the pastor; “I must look through the old register, which ends at his death in 17—,” and unlocking a large box which stood in the corner of the room, he took out the book, and soon found the entry of Lobert’s birth. Upon the same page he noticed the name of his friend the captain, and underneath it was fastened a sheet of paper. The pastor unfolded this, and glancing over its contents, cried out with delight, “Oh, what a blessed discovery this is for my dear friend the captain!” He folded up the paper, and putting it in his pocket, wrote out the required certificate for Lobert, who took his leave, promising to call and see the captain on the next day.
As soon as he had gone, the pastor ran to the captain’s house.
“Good news, my friend,” said he as soon as they met “I am the bearer of happy tidings for you. Here, read this paper.”
The captain’s eyes filled with tears as he read, and falling on his knees, he gave thanks to God for the mercy He had shown him, He then rose from his knees and read aloud the important document, which was as follows:—
“I earnestly beg any one into whose hands this paper may fall, to tell my son, Francis Buchman (if he be still living), that his old father before his death has forgiven his disobedience, and revoked the curse which he pronounced upon him in a moment of anger. I pray also that God will forgive him, and turn him from the error of his ways.
“G. BUCHMAN, Pastor.
“Dornbach, 15th June, 17—.”
The captain was quite an altered man now. The anxiety that had weighed upon his mind for so many years being removed, his life glided on smoothly and peacefully. The past only seemed to him as a terrible dream, from which he had now awakened.
Lobert duly called upon the captain on the following day, and was received with much joy, which was increased when he found that he too had chosen that better part which shall never be taken away. He soon became intimate with the pastor’s family, and the three friends enjoyed each other’s society for many happy years. The captain devoted the greater part of his time and his fortune to relieving the wants of the poor in the neighbourhood, and was long remembered by the inhabitants of the little village of Dornbach as the “Good Captain Buchman.”
The End
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